George Santos — accused of falsifying most of his CV — says he is a 'workhorse' and that he's 'lived an honest life'

New York Congressman-Elect George Santos speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) annual leadership meeting.

David Becker for the Washington Post/via Getty Images

• George Santos told Matt Gaetz that he has lived an "honest life."
• Santos added that he had "never been accused of any bad doing" and has worked his "whole life."
• Santos has admitted to falsifying a litany of information about his work experience and education.

Embattled Long Island Rep. George Santos — who has admitted to falsifying key information in his CV — said on Thursday that he's lived "an honest life." 

Santos appeared on the podcast "War Room: Pandemic" with Florida congressman Rep. Matt Gaetz on Thursday. During the podcast, Santos told Gaetz he has "lived an honest life" and has "never been accused of any bad doing." Santos said as well that the money and resources he has are "the equity" of his hard work. 

"I'm going to outwork any of the pundits and talking heads that are out there saying that I should resign, that I'm unfit for office," Santos said. "The reality is, and the case in point here being is: I'm a workhorse, I've worked my whole life. I'm the kid who came from a basic apartment." 

Gaetz told Santos that some members of the GOP have asked for the Long Island Republican to not be seated on congressional committees, but asked Santos what panels he'd like to serve on anyway. 

Santos responded that he came to Washington, D.C., without "really any preconceived notions of what committees to serve" but said he would "deliver 110%" to his work. 

An investigative report from The New York Times published on December 19 said that companies Santos claimed to have worked with had no record of him. Many other points of doubt have since been raised about Santos' life, work history, and education. 

The Forward, a Jewish publication, reported in December that they could not find any evidence that the Long Island Republican's grandparents are Jewish. Santos also claimed to have been "openly gay" for a decade, but The Daily Beast reported that he divorced a woman named Uadla Santos in 2019, two weeks before launching a failed 2020 campaign against Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. 

Santos in late December then admitted to lying about working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. The congressman also attempted to defend himself against accusations that he lied about being Jewish, saying: "I never claimed to be Jewish, I said I was 'Jew-ish." However, in a memo to pro-Israel groups distributed during his campaign, he claimed to be a "proud American Jew." 

Apart from the red flags on his CV, Santos was also accused by Nassau GOP chairman Joseph Cairo of lying about being a 'star' college volleyball player at Baruch College. The CV provided to the Nassau GOP also included the claim that Santos graduated from Baruch College with a high 3.89 GPA. Santos admitted to the New York Post in December that he never graduated from any institute of higher learning. 

Prosecutors in Long Island said on December 28 that they opened an investigation into Santos. Long Island Republicans and the New York State GOP in January called on Santos to resign, but he has refused to do so. 

A representative for Santos did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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